Bradley Manning Acquitted of Aiding Enemy, Guilty of Espionage and Other Charges

Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private who leaked classified documents to the website Wikileaks in 2010, was acquitted Tuesday of aiding the enemy, the most serious of the many charges brought against him. He will still go to jail, though, likely for a very long time, because he was convicted of numerous lesser charges.

Military judge Colonel Denise Lind announced the verdict, which found Manning guilty of espionage, theft and fraud. He could receive up to 136 years in jail. A follow-up hearing will set the terms of his sentence.

Both sides can claim partial victory—Manning because he claimed he was never intending to help al Qaeda or other U.S. enemies, and the government in that this will probably be the severest punishment yet for a person who leaked information to the media.

The Obama administration has pursued a record number of such prosecutions, with the Manning case the most high-profile (at least until the more recent Edward Snowden leak of NSA documents).